Rinku Thakur turned her fight against child marriage into a mission

When her family arranged her marriage at the age of 17 against her wishes, Rinku Thakur made a decision that would redefine the course of her life. Defying family and societal pressure, she rejected the wedding and left her home in Birgunj. Now 28, Thakur travels to remote villages in Madhesh province, raising awareness among girls and women about child marriage, nutritional health, dowry-related violence, and their legal rights.

Her own experience of resisting a forced marriage has driven her decade-long campaign to protect other girls from the same fate. In April 2016, Thakur walked away from her family home at Chhapkaiya in ward 1 of Birgunj Metropolitan City. Her parents had arranged her marriage to a young man from Ghorasahan across the border in neighbouring Bihar, India.

They had fixed the wedding date and paid Rs130,000 in cash to the groom’s family as a dowry. Despite her repeated pleas that she was underage, did not want to marry, and wished to continue her education, her family insisted on proceeding with the nuptials.